Review of Tampa Marriott Water Street 4*

We stayed at the Tampa Marriott for a conference in July. The positives are proximity to the conference center, the view and the pool area which is lovely and comfortable. But as for the rest, I was highly unimpressed. I have stayed in conference hotels all over this country and have traveled in the US and abroad for pleasure, so I have a wide range of hotels to compare this one to. First of all, people at the front desk were often curt and unfriendly. Second, the rooms are very small and the beds uncomfortable. There is no microwave and the mini-fridge was hidden behind a false set of drawers on the right side of the dresser, so we didn’t even discover it for two days. Coffee maker is provided, but only two cups were ever left and two coffees. If we wanted a cup later when we came back to our room, we had to hunt someone down to ask for it. Creamer was powdered. Even lower cost hotels generally use real creamers these days. It all seemed so chintzy for a hotel that is supposed to offer some level of luxury. Third, in the lobby, there were two nice containers of cold water infused with fruit every morning. But when we came in from evening events at about 9:00 pm, (it was HOT and we were thirsty) the water was already taken down. I guess that is to encourage you to buy the 4.00 bottles of Fiji water in the room. The Starbucks in the hotel is far more expensive than the one directly across the street at the Embassy Suites (2.75 for a cup of coffee vs. 1.95) so we took the one minute walk. The service in the restaurant is S-L-O-W. And when we asked about our food, rather than apologizing, the waitress told us we should expect to wait because we were a large party. We were, but we were also the only people in the restaurant. Food was good, but we were late to our event. Never once were our glasses refilled. Fourth, this is a huge (more than 25 story) hotel across the street from the conference center, and there were far too few elevators. Every morning was a long wait to get downstairs and there was no continuous stairway to provide an alternative. Fifth, the parking. There is mandatory valet parking. The cost is exorbitant. But the worst is that when this huge group of people is ready to depart as the conference ends, there is pandemonium because the little driveway is where everyone must claim their car and load up. There seems to be room for 12 to 15 cars at most at one time, all crowded into a small area filled with people, luggage carts, strollers, etc. It took us more than 30 minutes to get our car and get it loaded. And finally, when I checked my credit card, it appeared we were overcharged. When I called, I was told that a charge of 50.00 per night was applied in case of any incidentals. That extra money would be refunded in a week. A week? Why? Most conference hotels seem to bend over backwards to be helpful and accommodating. That was not our experience at the Marriott.